


Still Gawain

by Python07



Series: Kingsman Meets Craiglang [7]
Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015), Still Game (TV)
Genre: Crack, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Mild Language, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-05
Updated: 2015-12-05
Packaged: 2018-05-05 00:55:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5354786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Python07/pseuds/Python07
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack's mission with Merlin in his ear.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Still Gawain

“Good. The bastard’s deid.” Jack watched the mirror as if he could see Merlin. “More importantly, are you all right? You were nae injured in the fight?”

“I’m all right, Da,” Merlin answered earnestly. “I worked my magic from the plane.”

Jack arched an eyebrow. “You wouldnae lie to your old Da.”

Merlin chuckled. “Never. I learned that lesson long ago.”

Jack nodded, satisfied. “Good lad.” He pushed off from the edge of the bed. “Now,” he continued briskly. “I’ll be needin’ ye to unlock the door to the stairs. I need to go down to ten.”

Merlin sounded worried. “I donae know if that’s a good idea, Da. Things are still pretty chaotic.”

Jack stretched and his back popped. “Sucks to get old,” he muttered to himself. “Aye, Alec. I’m nae plannin’ on goin’ outside,” he told Merlin easily, as if he wasn’t bothered, and he wasn’t. “I’m sure the neds are having a field day, running amok.”

“But why do you want to leave the safety of your floor?” Merlin persisted.

“To check on Isa’s pal, Sadie. Isa’s frettin’ over her.”

Merlin clicked his tongue between his teeth. “This isnae a good idea.”

“If I didnae volunteer to go, she would go herself.” Jack shot his patented exasperated parent look at the mirror, at his stubborn child. “We both know it’s better if I or Victor goes and I donae want him goin’ with his bum shoulder. Right now, he’s got her distracted with the clean up of his flat but that’s not gonnae last.”

Merlin still didn’t sound convinced. “Da…”

“Alec,” Jack interrupted. “I survived thirty-five years of missions. I can take care of myself.”

Merlin grunted. “Fine, but I’m stayin’ in your ear.” 

Jack could picture Merlin’s set jaw. He smiled. “Good. You know, you sound almost as nervous as the first time you monitored me in the field, back when you were in training.” He winced but chuckled. “Cambodia. All rain and mud. Terrible food.” He nodded to himself. “Aye. It was a shitehole.”

Merlin let out a grudging sound of amusement. “Full of big bastard Communist agents. There were so many of them in that compound. I started worrying that I would be the one to have to tell Mum if you didnae make it. Then Morgan slapped me in the back of the head and told me to get my head out of my arse and pay attention. You took them all out, smooth as silk, in nothing flat.”

“Aye. I was good back then.” Jack gave a toothy grin. “And I’m not so far past it now that I cannae walk down a few flights of steps to check on a friend.” His eyes got wide and his pointed to himself. “How decrepit do ye think I am?”

Merlin let out a startled laugh and answered defensively, “Da, that’s not it at all.”

Jack pointed at the mirror. “Donae patronize me, my boy.”

“I’m not,” Merlin answered excitedly. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I…I just want you to be safe.”

Jack smiled. “I’ll be fine. Trust me.”

“Aye,” Merlin agreed. His voice was warm. “I know and I do.” 

“Are ye ready?”

Merlin took another deep breath. “Let’s get it done.”

Jack turned away from the mirror. He grabbed the pistol from the weapons locker, slipped it into his pocket, and let the wall panel slide back into place to protect his other weapons and supplies. The panel was completely seamless, blending perfectly into the wall.

Merlin switched back to his mission control voice. “The only flats I have cameras in are yours and Victor’s, but I do have eyes on every floor’s landing and all the stairs and elevators, along with the building’s main lobby.”

Merlin had Jack’s glasses feed up on his main monitor. He watched through Jack’s eyes as Jack stepped through the chaos that was his sitting room. The fact that Jack ignored it for the mission made him ridiculously proud (just as it always had).

Jack stopped at the door. “Am I clear?”

Merlin checked one of his other monitors. “Aye. Go ahead. I just checked. Victor has Isa well in hand.”

“Aye, and I’m sure she’s talkin’ his ear off,” Jack muttered. The view from the glasses tilted as he peeked out anyway to be sure. He slipped out and approached the door to the stairs.

“The stairs are empty. You are clear to proceed,” Merlin said crisply. He smirked. “And no extraneous chatter, Gawain.”

Jack snorted a laugh. He looked up at the security camera in the corner. He flashed a two finger salute just before he disappeared into the stairwell.

Merlin laughed quietly. “Charming.”

Jack snickered. “Stuff it.”

The stairs were empty and quiet and it didn’t take long for Jack to get down to the tenth floor. Merlin checked the cameras on that floor’s landing. “It looks quiet.”

Jack tried the handle and the sound of the heavy door echoed through the stairwell. He froze and hissed, “Bastard.”

Merlin bit back another laugh to remain professional. “Still quiet. Which flat does Sadie live in?”

Jack went through. “10A”

Merlin split his attention between the glasses feed and the camera showing the landing outside Sadie’s door. He frowned. “The lock’s broken.”

Jack moved closer. The door was open an inch and the lock was hanging off. He was still. “I donae hear anything.” He held his gun at the ready and cautiously nudged the door the rest of the way with his foot.

Merlin sighed at the first sight of Sadie’s flat. Broken glass littered the floor. A cracked mirror lay crooked against the wall. There were stains on the wall that suspiciously looked like blood. “Careful.”

“I know.” Jack gingerly made his way down the short hall to the main room. Glass still crunched under his feet. “Oh, Christ.”

Merlin quietly echoed the sentiment as he scanned the room through Jack’s feed. All of the furniture was broken and/or overturned. What used to be an expensive curio cabinet sported a cracked door and contained nothing but porcelain shards.

“No sign of her.” Jack glanced in the kitchen. “Nothing in there.”

“Check the bedroom.”

“Aye.” Jack made his way to the bedroom door. He stopped to listen for a moment before he opened it. A second later, he cursed under his breath. “Fucking hell.”

Merlin didn’t even know the lady but his heart sank when he saw her on the floor. She was on her back, her head at an unnatural angle and her eyes staring sightlessly. Blood stained the carpet beneath her. “Sorry.”

Jack grunted in response. He shook his head and grabbed a quilt off the bed to cover her. Then he backed out and left the flat.

“Go back upstairs,” Merlin commanded softly.

Jack sighed and headed for the stairs. “Aye. I just don’t know how I’m gonna break this to Isa.”

“Gently.” Merlin frowned when Jack stopped in front the door to one of Sadie’s neighbors. “What is it?”

Jack tilted his head to the side and listened at the door. “I hear something.”

“What?”

“Whimpering,” Jack whispered as he eased the door open.

The flat was dim and in a similar chaotic state to Sadie’s. Now that Jack was inside, Merlin could hear the noise too. “It’s ahead of you, Da.”

Jack looked around. “I donnae see anyone.”

“I think it’s coming from the kitchen.”

Jack scanned the kitchen. Broken dishes, silverware, and dented cans littered the floor and there were food stains on the wall. “It’s like a scene out of Animal House and you’re right. It’s louder in here.”

Merlin sat forward in his seat. “There, in that corner between the fridge and the wall.”

Jack knelt down in front of the small shivering ball of black and white fur. He held a hand out. “It’s all right, little one,” he murmured soothingly.

Merlin smiled despite the circumstances. “Is that a puppy?”

The puppy sniffed at Jack’s hand and then licked his fingers. Jack scratched behind its ears and then picked it up. He cradled it against his chest. “There we are. It’s all right now.”

Merlin was still smiling. “I think you’ve made a new friend.”

Jack grabbed the counter with his free hand and slowly climbed to his feet. He held the puppy in front of him so Merlin could get a better look. “Aye. A handsome little border collie he is too.”

“See if ye can find some food for him. I didnae think to include any with your supplies.”

Jack slipped the puppy under his sweater and cradled it against his chest. It buried its nose against his neck while he looked in the pantry. He found a bag of puppy chow, but left the dog bowls with a name printed on them. “Little one, your name will not be Chester,” he said solemnly. “You will not share a name with that prick.”

Merlin had to turn off the mic so Jack wouldn’t hear him laugh.


End file.
